Apparatus and method for multiple well drilling



H. J. WOOLSLAYER ETAL 2,963,123

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MULTIPLE WELL DRILLING Dec. 6, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. 23, 1955 l U 7 o c fi UQ Z 71 6 n 2/, m, m I F I INVENTORS smyae,

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APPARATUS AND mom FOR MULTIPLE WELL DRILLING Original Filed Dec. 23, 1955 H- J. WQOLSLAYER EI'AL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS e i m mCv/Mt a m a es! Lw w w 8 Wu? 3 QM a; o

United APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MULTIPLE WELL DRILLING Original application Dec. 23,1955, Ser. No. 555,080,

now Patent No. 2,840,198, dated June 24, 1958. Divlded and this application Feb. 7, 1958, Ser. No. 718,105

6 Claims. (Cl. 189-11) This invention relates to-the drilling of two or more oil wells close together without moving the base on which the drilling apparatus is mounted. It is a division of our copending application, Serial No. 555,080, filed December 23, 1955, now Patent No. 2,840,198.

For many years there have been two general ways of drilling oil Wells. One way has been to erect a conventional oil well derrick and drill a well with it, and then either leave the derrick for service work and build a new one for the next well, or dismantle the derrick and rebuild it at the second well. The other system has been to use a portable mast which is moved from one location to another along with its base or substructure and all of the drilling equipment. Recently a new practice has grown up in certain locations, according to which two or more wells are drilled close together without moving the derrick and its base. Modern drilling methods permit wells to be drilled as close as only a few feet apart at their upper ends. As the wells descend they curve away from one another toward the. desired underground locations. In such an operation it has been necessary to use a derrick that is large at top and bottom so that the crown block can be shifted to different locations on top of the derrick to position it over the locations of the different Wells that are to be drilled within the confines of the bottom of the derrick. This multiple well drilling practice has developed because of the extremely high cost of preparing drilling sites in such locations as off-shore and mountain sides. Such a derrck obviously is a massive and very expensive structure that also has the same ob- :ections as conventional derricks used in single well drillmg,

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for drilling a plurality of closely spaced wells Without moving the base that supports the drilling equipment, in which a portable mast is used that is no larger than necessary for drilling a single well, and in which the top of the mast can readily be shifted from above one well location to another wthout lowering the mast.

In accordance with this invention a substructure or base is. provided which can be placed in fixed position over the site of a line oftwo or'rnore wells that are to be drilled. An upright drilling mast is located on the base in position to drill a well. Mounted on the base beside the mast there is a gin pole which is used in raising the 'mast and supporting it. There is a pivotal support for the mast so that it can be tilted to locate the upper end of the mast in another well-drilling position, in which means are provided for holding the mast. This pivotal support may be either on the gin pole or on the base. When all of the drilling has been completed, the gin pole aids in swinging the mast down to reclining position for removal from the base.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is afront viewoi our well drillingapparatus;

atent Patented Dec. 6, 1960 Fig.2 is a side view thereof;

Fig. 3 is. an enlarged fragmentary side view of the portion of the mast attached to the gin pole;

Fig. 4 is; a horizontal section taken on the line IV--IV of Fig. 2;

Figs. 5 and 6. are schematic views illustrating how the mast'is;tilted into two other well drilling positions; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary schematic view of a modification.

Referring to. Figsrland 2 of-the'drawings, the mast is formed: from two laterally spaced booms B that are inclined upwardly. toward each other and support a crown block C, from which a traveling block T is suspended. Each boom has a pair of main front legs 1 that come together atitheir lower ends several feet above the foot of the. boom, and a pair of. rear legs 2 which likewise come together at their lower ends at the same level. Each boom also includes at its lower end a removable section 3 that extends down below the lower ends of the main legs to a shoe 4 on a suitable base 5 which generally will be mounted on a larger platform 6 (Fig. 5). Each removable section may be secured to the rest of the ad joining boom by bolts 7. The base extends lengthwise of the line of wells that are to be drilled; that is, the base extends forward from the drawworks (not shown) along the line of wells.

The mast is supported in upright (not necessarily vertical) operative position by a gin pole, which consists of a pair of front legs 8 connected at their upper ends to a pair of back legs 9. The upper parts of all of the gin pole legs aredisposed-between the mast booms. The lower ends of the back legsare mounted in shoes 11 behind the mast; The legs of the gin pole will be referred to herein collectively as the gin pole, even though the opposite sides of the pole are not connected together.

The mast can be raised to upright position from a reclining position, indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, by swinging the mast upward on its shoes 4 in a well-known manner with the aid of a sling (not shown) connected with the top of the gin pole and attached to the traveling block T. When the mast is upright it can be connected to the top of the gin pole by suitable means to improve the structural rigidity, if desired, but that is not absolutely necessary because guy lines are used anyway in order to obtain the advantages of this invention. The guy lines 13 are connected to the top of the mast and extend forward. and backward and down to suitable anchorage points, such as the ends of the platform 6, on which the base is mounted. Suitable means, for example turnbuckles 14, may be provided for lengthening and shortening the lines.

When the mast is swung up into the position shown in Fig. 2, the lower ends of the main legs 1 and 2 of each boom swing into front and rear brackets 15 and 16 mounted on a horizontal supporting beam 17 rigidly connecting the front and rear legs of the gin pole. The legs are then connected to the lower part of these brackets by removable pins 18. After this connection has been made, the removable section 3 of each boom can be disconnected from the rest of the boom and stored away in some other location until it is time to lower the mast. By removing these lower portions of the booms, the mast does not in any way obstruct the working area on the base.

Another feature of this invention is that after a well has been drilled, the mast can be tilted either forward or backward to position the crown block over the location of a secondwell to be drilled. This tilting of the mast is accomplished by the. guy lines 13 and turnbuckles. In tilting the mast forward for example, as shown in Fig. 5., the rear guy line islengthened and the front line right mast.

is shortened. However, before this can be done the back legs 2 of the mast must be disconnected from the rear supporting brackets 16 so that the mast can swing forward on the pins 18 in the front brackets 15. The mast is tilted until its rear legs can be pinned to the rear brackets through an upper set of holes 20, with which the brackets are provided. The mast then is held by all of the supporting brackets and the guy lines while the second well is drilled in front of the first one.

A third well can be drilled by tilting the mast backward as shown in Fig. 6. This is done after its back legs have first been returned to their original position in the rear brackets 16 and its front legs have been disconnected from the front brackets so that the mast can pivot on the pins 18 in the rear brackets. When the mast has been tilted, its front legs are connected to the upper parts of the front brackets through upper holes 21. Due to the lack of any cross members between the two booms, there are no obstructions to interfere with the drilling lines and the traveling block while the mast is tilted.

Following the drilling of the three wells in the manner just described, the mast is swung upright again and then the removable sections 3 are returned to the base, pivoted to the mast shoes 4 and swung up beside boom legs 1 and 2. As soon as the removable sections have been fastened to those legs by bolts 7, the legs are disconnected from brackets 15 and 16 so that the entire mast can be swung forward and down to the ground for separation from the base.

A further feature of this invention is that regardless of whether the mast is vertical or in its forward or backward tilted position, the racking platform remains horizontal and is located in the correct position relative to the well being drilled. The platform may be constructed in various ways but in general it has a horizontal frame 23 that extends between the booms and in front of the up- The projecting portion of the frame supports a guard rail 24. The frame is suspended by means of front and rear pairs of suspension links 25 and 26 plvotally supported at their upper ends by brackets 27 (Fig. l) on the inner faces of the booms. The lower ends of the rear pair of links 26 are pivotally connected to the rear end of the platform frame, while the lower ends of the front links 25 are pivotally connected to the frame about midway between its front and rear ends. The two pairs of links are not parallel to each other, but diverge downwardly as shown in Fig. 2. They are disposed at an angle such as to hold the platform level when it swings forward relative to the forwardly tilted mast or backward relative to the rearwardly tilted mast, as shown in Figs. and 6, respectively. This swinging of the platform relative to the mast also locates the platform in the correct position for the well being drilled at the time. While the mast is upright, the platform is held against swinging by removable bolts 28 extending through the front legs of the mast and the sides of the platform frame. These bolts also are used for connecting the platform to the mast after the latter has been tilted in either direction and the platform has swung in or out to the correct position.

With the apparatus just described, a line of at least three wells can be drilled without moving the base or the gin pole. Of course, if the base is skidded sideways on platform 6, a second line of wells can be drilled beside the first line. In addition to being able to use a portable one-well type of mast that can be swung up and down between reclining and upright positions, another advantage of this apparatus is that several wells can be drilled without moving the crown block relative to the mast and without lowering the mast.

In the modification shown in Fig. 7, the mast, while its removable sections are still secured to its lower end, is swung up on shoes 4 to upright position in the same way as described above. The mast then is connected to the top of each side of the gin pole by a removable pivot 31, and the lower ends of the main legs 1 and 2 are connected in spaced brackets 32 and 32A mounted on the supporting beam 17 that connects the front and back legs 8 and 9 of the gin pole. After the removable sections of the mast booms have been taken away, the mast can be used for drilling the first well. To drill a second well in front of the first one, the mast is disconnected from the brackets and then is tilted forward on pivots 31 by guy lines or the like, as previously described. In its tilted position, the lower end of the mast is connected to another set of brackets 33 and 33A on the supporting beams. After the second well has been drilled, the mast can be disconnected from the brackets and swung back on pivots 31 to locate its crown block over the location of a third well behind the first two. In this position, the mast is connected to a third set of brackets 34 or 34A on the supporting beam. To lower the mast after drilling has been completed; the mast is swung upright again, the removed sections are reconnected to shoes 4 and the rest of the mast, the pivotal connection of the mast to the top of the gin pole is removed, and then the mast is swung forward and down to the base 5.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for drilling a line of closely spaced wells, comprising a base adapted to be placed in fixed position over the site of said wells and extending lengthwise of said line, a gin pole mounted thereon provided with an elevated supporting member extending lengthwise of the base several feet above the base, a substantially vertical drilling mast on the base, means detachably hinging the lower end of the mast to the base to permit the mast to be swung down to the ground, means detachably connecting the mast to the supporting member, detachable means for pivoting the mast to the top of the gin pole, the portion of the mast below said supporting member being removable from mast and base after the mast has been connected to the gin pole, the mast being tiltable lengthwise of the base on said pivoting means after the mast has been disconnected from said supporting member, and means for fastening the mast to said member when the mast is in a predetermined tilted position.

2. Apparatus for drilling a line of closely spaced wells, comprising a base adapted to be placed in fixed position over the site of said wells and extending lengthwise of said line, a gin pole mounted thereon provided with an elevated supporting member extending lengthwise of the base several feet above the base, a substantially vertical drilling mast on the base, means detachably hinging the lower end of the mast to the base to permit the mast to be swung down to the ground, means detachably connecting the mast to the top of the gin pole, means for detachably pivoting the mast to said supporting member, the portion of the mast below said supporting member being removable from mast and base after the mast has been fastened to the supporting member and gin pole, means for tilting the mast lengthwise of the base on said supporting means after disconnecting the mast from the top of the gin pole, and means for fastening the tilted mast to the top of the gin pole.

3. In the method of drilling a line of closely spaced wells from a mast beside a gin pole on a base located in fixed position over the site of the wells and extending lengthwise of said line, the steps comprising hinging to the base the foot of a reclining mast extending lengthwise of the base, swinging the mast up to upright position, connecting the upright mast to the gin pole in a location several feet above said foot, removing the portion of the mast below said location, drilling a, well, then tilting the mast on the gin pole to position the top of the mast over the location for a second well, and holding the mast in that position while the second well is being drilled.

4. Oil well drilling apparatus, comprising a base, a gin pole mounted thereon and having spaced opposite sides provided between their front and back with elevated supporting members several feet above the base and below the top of the gin pole, a drilling mast detachably hinged at one end to the base beneath said supporting members in a location between the front and back of said gin pole sides so that the mast can be swung up from a reclining to an upright position beside said supporting members, and means for detachably connecting the upright mast to said supporting members, the portions of the mast below the elevated supporting members being removable from mast and base after the mast has been connected to the supporting members, whereby the mast will be supported by the gin pole.

5. Oil well drilling apparatus, comprising a base, a gin pole mounted thereon and provided at its opposite sides with elevated supporting members several feet above the base, a drilling mast detachably hinged at one end to the base so that the mast can be swung up from a reclining to an upright position, means for detachably connecting the upright mast to said supporting members, the lower portions of the mast below the elevated supporting members being removable from mast and base after the mast has been connected to the supporting members, the mast being tiltable a predetermined amount on the gin pole after removal of said lower portions, and means for holding the mast in upright and tilted positions while its said lower portions are absent, whereby the mast can operate in both upright and tilted positions.

6. Apparatus for drilling a line of closely spaced wells, comprising a base adapted to be placed in fixed position over the site of said wells and extending lengthwise of said line, a gin pole mounted thereon provided with an elevated supporting member extending lengthwise of the base several feet above the base, a substantially vertical drilling mast on the base, means detachably hinging the lower end of the mast to the base to permit the mast to be swung down to the ground, pivot means for detachably connecting the mast to said supporting member, the lower portion of the mast below said supporting member being removable from mast and base after the mast has been fastened to the supporting member by said pivot means, the mast being tiltable lengthwise of the base on said pivot means after said lower portion has been removed, and means for holding the mast in vertical and tilted positions while said lower portion is absent.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,293,958 Woolslayer et al. Aug. 25, 1942 

